The Ultimate B2B Demand Generation Playbook: Proven Account-Based Marketing Strategies for SaaS Success

Effective demand generation is crucial for SaaS companies as competition intensifies. As a marketing leader, you understand the need for targeted campaigns that resonate with your ideal customers. B2B demand generation through surveys can help you do just that.

Account-Based Marketing for SaaS: Why It Works

B2B companies have a different marketing approach to hit their growth targets. A B2B account based marketing strategy is one of the marketing tactics that works best for saas companies. In this approach, you focus on high-value accounts while making your marketing strategies. These accounts are the best fit for your provided solutions.

ABM works by bringing your sales and marketing teams together with common goals. It enables you to deliver personalized experiences and customized messages and connect with decision-makers at the right time. 

By using ABM, you can build stronger relationships and accelerate deal cycles, which ultimately enhance your ROI. Companies that use ABM often see 

• Better engagement

• Higher conversion rates

• More revenue from their top accounts

Designing Your Account-Based Marketing Plan

To design the best account based marketing plan, the first thing you must consider is to define your ideal customer profiles (ICP). Once you know your ideal customers, look for their various aspects, including

• Industry type

• Company size

• Tech stack 

• Pain points

• Buying behavior

Initially, select a small group of companies and develop marketing strategies to address their specific needs. To execute your plan effectively, use the right tools and platforms. The tools that can help you make highly personalized plans are

• Marketing automation

• CRM system

• Data enrichment tool

Remember, ABM success depends on dedicated teams. Your marketing and sales professionals must communicate continuously and refine the approach together. Regular feedback loops and performance reviews are essential for achieving a lasting impact.

Top Channels and Tools for B2B SaaS Demand Generation

Demand generation for SaaS requires a well-rounded approach to attract, educate, and convert your audience. The right combination of channels and tools will help you build a sustainable demand generation strategy for B2B SaaS.

• SEO: Start with optimized blog content, case studies, and pillar pages to drive long-term traffic and rank for key search terms.

• Paid Media: Google Ads and LinkedIn Ads are effective for bottom-of-funnel conversions.

• Email Marketing: Use segmentation to tailor messaging based on buyer stages, combined with lead-nurturing workflows to guide prospects through the sales funnel.

• Account-Based Tactics: Enhance your strategy with personalized emails, direct mail, and custom landing pages.

• Social Media: Focus on LinkedIn to connect with decision-makers and share thought leadership.

• Tech Stack: Leverage tools like HubSpot, Marketo, or Pardot for automation and Clearbit or ZoomInfo for data enrichment.

• Analytics: Integrate analytics to measure performance and refine your approach.

This guide is designed to help you achieve your goals, whether it’s impressing your boss, guiding your next meeting, or building a strategy you can rely on. So where do we start? At the basics, of course.

1. A goal-setter makes a go-getter!

Today, we focus on the right steps to execute a specific type of ABM demand-generation campaign: demand-gen surveys. Still, these steps, in a different order, can be applied to almost any campaign you execute.

Make sure to choose the one that fits your objectives best!

• Set SMART goals and measurable KPIs that fit your company’s objectives:

• Choose the best type of campaign to reach your goals effectively. 

2. Research, Research, Research!
   

Research your target market to define your ideal customer profile. Before launching any demand-generation campaign, it's crucial to understand who you should target, where to find them, what defines them, what bothers them, and what connects them. 

• Define Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP): Create a detailed description of the perfect customer for your SaaS solution. Consider factors such as:

  • Company size and revenue

  • Industry and sector

  • Geographic location

  • Technology stack and pain points

  • Decision-making structure
    

• Build a Target Account List: Based on your ICP and research, create a list of companies that fit your criteria.
  

• Define your Campaign’s Topic: This should be directly tied to the campaign’s objectives. You want to ensure you know exactly what you want to learn from these executives, what relevant questions to ask, and how you can leverage that information. Leverage B2B Market Research: Utilize secondary research methods to gain deeper insights: You can do this by analyzing industry reports, government data, and academic studies

  Design your survey with relevant questions both to you and the respondent, that are clear, and meet the business objective. Check for bias and remove it.3. Test your survey with a small focus group and redesign it if needed.

This is the most important stage in your campaign. Do not rush it.

By finishing, you should have a clear and solid understanding of who is your target persona, what your target account list looks like, and what information you desire to learn specifically from your audience. 

3. Launch & Measure Campaigns Effectively
   

With a solid understanding of your target audience and a strong survey, it's time to craft rocking campaigns:

• Personalization at Scale: Leverage account-based marketing techniques to create highly targeted content and experiences:

  • Develop industry-specific value propositions

  • Use dynamic content in emails and on your website

  • Reference relevant industry trends or challenges

  • Personalize subject lines and email content

  • Use Segmentation: Divide your target audience into smaller groups based on criteria such as:

    1. Industry vertical

    2. Company size

    3. Buying stage

    4. Previous engagement with your brand
       

• Launch Your Outreach campaigns by leveraging different platforms and channels. Be strategic in your messaging and make sure to follow up 
  

Measure the effectiveness of your outreach:

• Tracking and Analytics: 

  • Set up UTM parameters for all links

  • Use marketing automation tools to track engagement

  • Implement closed-loop reporting with your CRM

• Key Metrics to Monitor:

  • Engagement rates (open rates, click-through rates)

  • Conversion rates at each stage of the funnel

  • Number of survey respondents

  • Marketing qualified leads (MQLs) and sales qualified leads (SQLs)
    

4. I’ve done a lot… but is it working?

• Regular Performance Reviews: Conduct weekly reviews of campaign performance, identifying areas for improvement.

• A/B Testing: Continuously test different elements of your campaigns:

  • Email subject lines and content

  • Landing page designs and copy

  • Call-to-action (CTA) buttons and placement

• Feedback Loops: Establish mechanisms to gather feedback from:

  • Sales teams on lead quality

  • Executives on their experience engaging with your survey

  • Internal stakeholders on campaign alignment with overall business goals

    
    

5. Develop Long-Term Relationships: Lead Nurturing in B2B

I know this might seem like a lot of steps so far, but demand generation is a long-term game. Develop a robust nurture strategy to build lasting relationships:

• Lead Nurturing Workflows: Create automated email sequences that provide value and guide leads through the buyer's journey:

  • Educational content for early-stage leads

  • Product-specific information for middle-stage leads

  • Case studies and testimonials for late-stage leads

• Personalized Follow-Ups: Empower your sales team to send personalized, timely follow-ups:

  • Provide email templates and talking points that you gathered from the surveys

  • Encourage the sharing of relevant content or insights to improve their conversations

  • Set up alerts for key engagement activities

• Account-Based Nurturing: For high-value accounts, develop tailored nurture programs:

  • Create account-specific content and experiences

  • Involve executives in relationship-building activities

  • Organize exclusive events or workshops for target accounts

• Community Building: Foster connections among your prospects and customers:

  • Create online forums or user groups

  • Host regular webinars or virtual meetups

  • Facilitate peer-to-peer learning and networking opportunities

By following these steps and continuously refining your approach, you'll be well-positioned to create effective demand-generation campaigns that drive results for your SaaS company.

Remember, the key to success lies in understanding your audience, collaborating across teams, personalizing your approach, and remaining adaptable in your strategy.

From Leads to Loyalty: The Full-Funnel ABM Approach

Effective marketing doesn't stop after capturing leads. To build lasting growth, you need a full-funnel ABM strategy that covers every stage, from awareness to advocacy.

Step 1: Awareness

You can start by educating your audience with helpful content shared through SEO, social media, and earned media. Use paid channels to widen your reach and attract new leads.

Step 2: Consideration

After awareness, build trust with your audience by offering targeted content like whitepapers, webinars, and personalized emails. Help your leads evaluate their options and see the value your solution provides.

Step 3: B2B SaaS Lead Generation

Now, encourage conversions by offering customized demos, discussing pricing, and providing strong sales materials that motivate leads to take action.

But the journey does not end there. After making a lead, continue to engage with customers. Build their trust and try to retain them by sharing product updates, success stories, and training resources. Offer exclusive access to communities or events. Encourage reviews and referrals. In doing so, you transform users into loyal promoters.

This full-funnel model ensures that your account based marketing B2B approach delivers not just leads but real business growth.

FAQs

What is demand generation for B2B SaaS?

Demand generation for B2B SaaS is a marketing approach that includes both inbound and outbound efforts. Its primary purpose is to raise awareness, build interest, and increase engagement.

How to generate leads for B2B SaaS?

Focus on a mix of SEO, paid media, content marketing, cold outreach, and partnerships. Build targeted ABM campaigns and use lead magnets to collect emails. Then, nurture those leads through email sequences, webinars, and personalized follow-ups.

How to do B2B demand generation?

For demand generation, start by defining your ideal customer profile (ICP). Once you identify the high-value accounts, make tailored plans and use various platforms to attract your targeted customers. After running campaigns, optimize your plans based on the new results and refine them to further enhance engagement.

Is B2B SaaS growing?

B2B Saas is growing with digital transformation and automation tools. However, in this era of digitalization, demand generation is facing challenges to stand out.